Attendees will gain the latest news and trends in automation and control systems, instrumentation, cybersecurity and emerging technologies across the water/wastewater industry. More than 30 technical presentations will be delivered, along with a forum session that will allow attendees to have a voice in the future of automation.

A strong emphasis will be placed on recent advances and innovations in applying security to control systems; improving operator situational awareness; and monitoring and diagnosing plant equipment and system reliability issues through smart technology.

The exhibit showcase will feature the latest product and service information at engaging vendor and supplier exhibits, and daily networking luncheons and an evening reception will set the stage for mingling, meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends.

The symposium, which will be held at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA, is expected to draw between 200 and 300 attendees and is presented by the ISA Water/Wastewater Industries Division, in collaboration with the Florida Section of the AWWA (FSAWWA), the Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA), the WEF Automation and Info Tech Committee and the Instrumentation Testing Association (ITA).

Five outstanding opening session presentations and speakers

John S. Young, Jr. P.E., will help to kick off the conference, delivering a presentation focused on the numerous challenges which must be addressed for water/wastewater utilities to be sustainable and provide safe, reliable service.

Mr. Young has worked in the water utility industry his entire career. In 2010, Young retired from American Water, the largest water/wastewater utility in North America, after a 33 year career. At American Water, he served in numerous technical and management positions including Vice President–Engineering, President–American Water Works Service Company, Chief Water Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Recently, as a utility consultant, he has supported or assessed numerous water utilities including the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (during the Detroit bankruptcy) and PRASA.

In addition to Young’s address, the following prominent speakers will also give presentations during the event:

Albert Rooyakkers will deliver a talk about the importance of cybersecurity beyond the network. This presentation will discuss how the reduction in the system attack surface can impart simplification while hardening embedded systems from the inside out to cyber, electromagnetic pulse and other forms of malicious nation state attacks resulting in improved reliability and mean time between failures.

Rooyakkers is the Founder, CTO, and VP of Engineering of Bedrock Automation. Albert’s recent technical endeavors include developing parallel processors for video, hybrid propulsion systems for transportation and currently, as a Bedrock founder and CTO, designing and commercializing a revolutionary cyber secure automation platform for the global market.

John Krajewski will discuss how the HMI should be designed to optimize the operator’s interpretation of the vast amount of data being displayed. The cornerstone of improving the overall HMI design is to deliver Situational Awareness (SA). Only by achieving the proper Situational Awareness can the operations team make effective decisions that will deliver overall business success.

Krajewski has 19+ years of experience in industrial automation and control systems. Krajewski began his career working as a control system engineer in the potable water industry. Subsequently, he worked as an application engineer for a system integrator who primarily focuses on the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

He joined Invensys Wonderware in April 2000 as a Senior Application Developer in the Product Marketing Department. Shortly thereafter, he assumed the role of Product Marketing’s Functional Manager of Infrastructure. He spent 5 years as a domain architect with responsibilities for architectural and functional definition of InTouch and ArchestrA technologies. For the past 5 years, he has served in multiple product management roles for Invensys HMI/Supervisory Control products.

“WEF Current News and Trends”

Speaker: Tom DeLaura, P.E.

Thomas DeLaura, P.E. is the Vice President of Eramosa International, and the Executive Director of the Instrument Testing Association. DeLaura has 40 years of experience with automation, and has seen firsthand how it can support and enhance all facets of the wastewater business. His career has focused on influencing and comprehending industry best practices to enhance performance, enable well-informed decision making, and utilize human and automation resources to produce optimum results.

His active roles at the local and national levels of ISA, WEF and AWWA are examples of his dedication to the industry and give him a true appreciation for the need to keep automation relevant during the many challenges and changes the wastewater industry is facing. DeLaura is a member of a number of committees in AWWA and WEF, including the AWWA I&C Committee, and he was WEF’s Chair of the Automation & Information Technology Committee.

DeLaura has worked in all facets of automation associated with water/wastewater systems, from down in sewers, to out in the plant, and all the way up to the boardroom. He has written and presented on numerous topics of interest to the water and wastewater industry, and has received awards from the industry for his dedication and service.

“AWWA Current News and Trends”

Speaker: Michael Sweeney, P.E., Ph.D.

Michael Sweeney, P.E., Ph.D. has served as the Deputy Executive Director of Toho Water Authority and has 30 years’ experience with water and wastewater utilities serving Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville. He has also provided consulting services concerning utility management and technology throughout the U.S. and Canada and has served as Adjunct Professor at Purdue University and University of Louisville.

He is a registered professional engineer and holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from Purdue and a B.S. degree in Public Health from Indiana University. Memberships include ISA, AWWA and he is WEF’s immediate past chair of the Utility Management Committee and current chair of the Literature Review Committee.